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DAREDEVIL: YELLOW #4
"Never Lead With Your Left"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Nanci Dakesian & Stuart Moore
Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN |
Although this book is a
retelling of an origin that has been told many times before, as it continues to
unfold, I find myself enthralled. A big part of that is Tim Sale's artwork, and
it's ironic that a book about a blind man should be so vividly realized, bigger
than life and with a timeless quality to it that should make the book work as an
origin story ten or even twenty years down the line, even if the timeline keeps
moving forward. The other part, however, is Loeb's writing, particularly on
Daredevil's narration, which describes the way the character sees the world and
paints pictures in words, just as Daredevil's own senses must paint pictures in
unconventional ways.
The beauty of a more decompressed origin is that it gives the creators time to "stop and smell the roses," as it were. Bendis was criticized for taking too long to get to the costume in Ultimate Spider-Man, but the result was a Peter Parker
more believable than he had ever been before. Loeb is creating the same kind of
characters in Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. Matt's thoughts about
facing his first super-villain flesh the character out and help to explain how
he went from vigilante avenging his father to full-fledged super-hero. The
triangle between Matt, Foggy and Karen really helps to flesh out their
relationships and give them a tight and cohesive past that will echo into the
present.
Sale and colorist Hollingsworth have been
doing fantastic stuff from the start, and they continue to do so here. The
opening sequence is an incredible rendition of two very goofy Silver Age
costumes, that of Electro and Daredevil, but they don't look silly. Instead,
they look iconic, a picture of a more innocent time, and Loeb's narration
reflecting on the way the villains have changed is a nice counterpoint. In
addition, for a book about someone as acrobatic as Daredevil, you need someone
who can do aerial chase scenes and a "high-wire" combat scene as well as Sale
pulls off here. It's all the more impressive that his work on the more normal
settings, in a law office or a bowling alley, are just as impressive.
I do think that Loeb's insertion of Matt
visiting the execution of his father's killer was a mistake, I must admit. In
the midst of the more interesting developing story, he jumps forward in time and
gives us a scene that doesn't really fit into most of the rest of the issue.
It's well-realized, an excellent scene, but it didn't really seem to belong in
this particular issue.
What makes the book special, though, is that the creators realize that the story of a super-hero has been told in many ways. The story of the man behind the mask is the interesting and different part, the part that anyone can relate to. They've shown that understanding with their examination of Batman in Long Halloween and Clark Kent in For All Seasons, and they show that
understanding here with the relationships developing between Matt, Karen and
Foggy. Most folks will never put on yellow spandex and swing over the city, but
everyone knows what it's like to realize someone means a lot to you, and I'll
bet most folks have at one time or another been in conflict with a friend over
an object of affection.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
